2016 in Review

January

We spent the New Year at a cozy cabin in Virginia with good friends, lots of wine, and both a fire place and fire pit.  It was the perfect way to start the year! Three different friends had birthday parties this month too, so we were often out and about in the cold. After one of said birthday parties, DT and I decided to get married (!), even though we didn't tell anyone until much later!

February

I flew home for a long weekend because my grandparents' had sold their house and were having one last blowout bash to say goodbye.  I also got to go to a friend's bridal shower and catch up with my college friends.  It was a quiet month, but a good one!

March

DT turned 30! We celebrated with an epic brunch at Boqueria.  Seriously, if you want a really fun group brunch, that is the spot.  On the domestic front, we bought a new couch.  Very exciting.  Some friends from home came to town for a wedding and crashed with us for the weekend.  Finally, we   enjoyed Easter dinner with our DC friends.

April

We started the month with a trip down to my favorite place, Charlottesville, to visit some friends and threw in a trip to Monticello. I snuck home for another quick weekend trip to celebrate two of my favorite people's 30th birthdays, complete with a party bus.  Back in DC, DT's sister was in town for a conference and we were able to grab dinner with here in National Harbor, or as I like to call it, Virginia's Disneyland.  Finally, we were back in Charlottesville for Foxfield - one of my favorite weekends of the year!

May

My best friends came to visit!  We dinnered hard, we brunched hard, we Kentucky Derby'd hard.  I went home (yes, again) for the first wedding of the year, which happened to be on Martha's Vineyard.  It was my first trip there and I can't wait to get back!  

June

We took another (yes, another) trip home for our second wedding of the season.  We also started wedding planning in earnest, booking our venue.  Our annual Flag Day Pool Party was a success, as always.  And we celebrated some newly engaged friends at their engagement party!

July

A friend threw me the ideal bridal shower - bottomless brunch and gifts of lingerie.  No finger sandwiches, party games, or lack of alcohol here!  Another friend left town, which was a bummer, but she's doing amazing things!  I flew home yet again for another wedding, and was able to sneak up to Maine for a few days for a family reunion and some beach time.

August

I started August in Maine, but ended it with another trip home - this time to DT's family beach house.  We also did our food tasting, hit up the beach, and hung out with family.  August is the best month.

September

Oh, September.  The cruelest month as far as I'm concerned.  It's the end of summer!  We had a Labor Day pool party, the girls ventured to La Grange and Twilight Polo, I was able to sneak off to Austin for a friend's incredible bachelorette party, and ended the month with a trip to the homeland aka Vermont for yet another wedding!

October

We got married!  That was fun.  We did a little mini-moon in Newport and celebrated my 31st birthday.  On the blog front, I went to my first Bubbles & Bloggers meet-up and met so many talented, smart, funny, women who are killing it in the DC blog scene! 

November

The blog fun continued with The District Darlings' relaunch party!  I made an appointment to shop at Refine, an amazing local boutique.  Election night happened, which we're ignoring.  (Still strictly in the denial phase.)  Another trip home for another wedding!  That's 7 of 8 if you're still keeping count. That trip home was great though because I was also able to go to old of my oldest friend's baby shower!  So weird that people are having babies on purpose.  Due to time and funds, DT and I stayed local for Thanksgiving for the first time ever!  Even when I was abroad, my mom, uncle, and grandparents flew to Ireland for Thanksgiving with me, so this was a weird first.  We had a wonderful day at a friend's parents' house complete with a delicious meal.  We rounded out the month with a trip to Boxwood Estate Winery for a friend's 30th birthday, and I attended a Bubbles & Bloggers brunch.

December

Oh man, December was a good one.  We spent an entire, blissful week in Saint Maarten (posts - so many posts, coming soon!) I got together with my girls to have a yummy Christmas before Christmas dinner at Espita.  DT started a new job and we went to his holiday party. We saw other DC friends at a holiday party, and then took off for home!  I spent the holidays with my family, loving every minute of it.  And we were back in DC for New Year's Eve, having a dinner party and plenty of champagne.  

2016, you were a terrible year in so many ways, but personally, I had a pretty good year.  Here's hoping 2017 is great for everyone!